The Jerry Austins from Alberta, Canada:Information about Bygod Eggleston

Bygod Eggleston (b. 20 Feb 1587, d. 01 Sep 1674)

Bygod Eggleston (son of James Eggleston, 1st and Margaret Harker)281, 282, 283 was born 20 Feb 1587 in Settrington,Yorkshire East Riding,England284, 284, and died 01 Sep 1674 in Windsor,Hartford,CT285, 285.He married Mary Aylett Wall on 1636 in Dorchester,Suffolk,MA286, daughter of Moses Wall and Anne Skinner.Notes for Bygod Eggleston:There are various spellings of his first name in the records: Bygod, Bigot, Bigod, Baggett, Bagot, Begat.He was baptized Bygod, he signed his name Bigod and his will was Begat.It has been speculated that his fellow Puritans found the name Bygod a bit blasphemous, hence some of the alternative spellings.Bygod, a passenger of the ship "Mary and John," was among the founders of Dorchester,MA in 1630 and of Windsor,CT in 1635.He brought to the colonies with him two sons, James and Samuel.A daughter Mary, another son James, and his wife, Juliane (surname in dispute), are assumed to have died before Bygod left England and little else is known about them.He married again, Mary, and again, her surname is unknown.Together they had seven children; Thomas, Mercy (Marcy), Sarah, Rebecca (Deborah), Abigail, Joseph and Benjamin.According to the court records of Connecticut, Bygod was fined 20 shillings in 1645 for "bequeathing his wife to a young man."The young man, a George Tuckye, was fined 40 shillings, but he took off and didn't pay.(The Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, p. 105, says this must be regarded as a joke)Bygod survived his second wife as well, and married a third and final time.Once again, her name is unknown.No known children came of this marriage.He had at least 63 grandchildren and 144 great-grandchildren.The "Mary and John" sailed from Plymouth,England on 20 March carrying 140 West Country Englishmen to the eventual settlement at Dorchester,MA.Five years later (1635), a majority of the so-called "Dorchester Company" trekked 110 miles thrugh New England wilderness to settle in the CT River Valley at what we now know as Windsor,CT where a trading post had been established as the first English settlement inCT on 26 September, 1633.Surviving the rigors of New England winters, Indian hostilities and a host of other challenges, they raised their families in the staunch Puritan traditions of their mentor, Reverend John White, the so-called patriarch of Dorchester (Dorset).Reverend White never came to New England; perhaps because of his advancing age he chose to remain in Dorset but was the guiding force who persuaded hundreds of other West Country men to join their "Mary and John" neighbors and kindsmen in New England.Among the surnames associated with the 1630 Mary and John are: Clap, Cooke, Denslow, Drake, Eggleston, Ford, Fyler, Gallop, Gaylord, Gillett, Grant, Hill, Hull, Ludlow, Maverick, Newberry, Phelps, Pinney, Rockwell, Rossiter, Stoughton, Strong, Terry, Warham, Way, and Wolcott.1657 was made a freeman of Connecticut.Bigod and son James were made freemen the same year.Son Samuel, the following year.Will of Begat Eggleston [from the Eggleston Internet Web site]Vol. III Page 136 Hartford District 1635-1700 by Manwaring.Eglestone, Bygatt, Windsor.Invt. L116-03-00.Taken 24 October, 1674,by Old William Trail, Thomas Dibble, Mathew Grant.Will dated 13 November, 1673.I Bigat Egglstone of Windsor, in ye county of Hartford, being aged and weake, doe make this my last will and testament as followeth; I comit my sould in the hands of God, and my body to be buried in seemly manner by my friends.My Estate, which is but Small, this is my Will; My house and land after my decease I give to my son Benjamin, he being the staff of my age, on this condition, that he shall maintaine his Mother during her life and pay my Debts.And in case my son Joseph should come and demand a portion, his brother shall pay him forty shillings as he is able with conveniency.Also to my son James and my son Samuel & my son Thomas, And Daughters Mary, Sarah & Abagail, to eyther of these three shillings apiece.All ye rest of my estate I give to my son Benjamin, and doo make him my exsequitor.Begat EglestonWitness: Nath.SslyerAbraham Randall, John Hosford.Additional Sources: Our Eggleston and Allied Families, by Elsie E. Kempton, 1975 The American Genealogist, Vol. X, pp 197, 8 Vital record for Mercy from theCT Historical Society Eggleston Genealogy by F. Eggleton Robbins Eggleston ... Facts and Fiction, Genevieve Tylee Kiepura National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol 57, #4, p 255 The Mary and John, Maude Pinney Kuhns Edwin D Witter, Jr. Boston City Document No. 9, Dorchester Town Records. Dorothy Griebel, Lynnfield,MA 1995SRC:F E Robbins' Manuscript -NEHG Lib.Unlike his brothers, Bygod did not remain at home in Eng.The parish records of St. Margaret's de Westwick, at Norwich, show that by 1612 he had removed to that city (Norwich,Norfolk,England)where his uncle was living, was married, and on 13 April had recorded the baptism of a son, James.The boy died and was buried on 15 Aug 1613, but in the meantime a dau Mary was baptized on 6 Jan 1613.By the will of their uncle, probated 29 Sep 1612, Bygod and his sisters Dorothy and Jane each received a legacy of 20 shillings, and in the next year each of them -- Bygod, Dorothy, James, Elizabeth, Margaret, and Alice -- inherited L6 from their father's estate;their brothers, as we have already seen, divided the buildings and lands between them, and were given the remainder of the estate after legacies, debts, funeral expenses, and the gifts to Ralf Harker and his family had been deducted(Ralf Harker may have married James Eggleston's sister)(G.S.C., Hartford Times, 9 Mar 1946).What Bygod Egleston was doing at this time we do not know;his own will, made many years later, suggests that perhaps he worked with skins or hides. Apparently he left Norwich soon after 1613, for there is no further mention of him in the records;yet he must have been living somewhere in England for 17 years longer before he came to Ameria.Stiles speaks of the tradition that he came from Exeter, but there is no real proof of this.Certain it is, however, that during this time two more sons, James and Samuel, emigrants to New England, like their father, were born to him;his will is proof of their parentage.James, who was old enough to be a soldier in the PequotWar of 1637, was probably the elder, and may have been born in 1617, or earlier;traditionally Samuel was his twin, but in fact he may have been younger, perhaps born not before 1620.It may be noted that James became a freeman earlier than Samuel, and that his eldest child was seven year older than Samuel's.Bygod was born in Settrington, East Riding (now No. Yorkshire),England.Sometime before 1612 he arrived in Norwich,Norfolk,England.He married and had four children who were born in England.He emigrated to America about 1630, (some say on the ship "Mary and John", which sailed from Plymouth,England on 20 March 1630.They landed ten weeks later at Dorchester,MA) where he had seven more children.About 1635 he moved to Windsor, Hartford, CT, which is at the confluence of the Farmington and Connecticut Rivers.Windsor is about six miles north of where the city of Hartford stands today.Some ten years after Bygod Egleston came to Windsor he was involved in a curious affair which it is difficult to interpret accurately.The Public Records of the Colony of CT I, 127, report that at a Particular Court held at Hartford 5 Jun 1645 "Baggett Egleston, for bequething his wife to a young man, is fyned 20 s.George Tuckye, for his misdemeanor in words to Egleston's wife, is fyned 40 s. and to be bownd to his good behauior and to appear the next Court.Tho:Ford acknowledgeth himself to be bownd in x L to this Comonwealth and George Tucky in 20 L that the said George shall appear at the next Court, and keepe good behauior in the meane season."Tucky did not appear at the next session, and nothing further about the affair is to be found in the records.Whatever happened, it does not seem to have seriously interrupted Bygod Egleston's family life.He was at the time 58 years old, had four young children besides the two older sons, and was to have three more within the next eight years.A fanciful account in the KNICKERBOCKERMONTHLY for January, 1851, represents Bygod as an aging man of plebeian character whose young wife is constantly quarreling with him because of his failure to attain higher social position;this bickering makes him angry enough to wish to be rid of her.Bygod and his son James were admitted as freemen of CT Colony 21 May 1657 (Pub. Rec. Col. Conn. I, 297), the name being spelled "Begatt Eglstone."On 18 Jan 1659/70 his name is in the list of householders in Windsor who had paid for seating in the meeting-house, and in May, 1668, it is reported that for 50s. he undertook "to cleanse the meeting-house this year" and for 28s to beat the drum for meetings (Stiles)."Begat Eggleston" and his sons James and Thomas are on the list of freemen dated 11 Oct 1669 (Pub. Rec. Col. Conn. II, 519; N. E. Reg. 5, 247).Stiles thus describes his land holdings in Windsor: "Lot gr. on Backer Row, 14-1/2 r. wide from the Palisado Road; sold place to Nicholas Hoyt and resided 1654 in the Palisado, his lot being N of the meeting-house, bounded E on the highway, N by the palisades; and in 1654 the Town gave him the 1 rod road between him and the Elias Parkman lot, and the road across the N end of his lot between it and the palisades, during the pleasure of the Town.His lot in the _____________and his family had been deducted."Bygod's will shows that a widow survived him and there is record that she contributed 4 s. in cloth to the CT Fund for the Relief of the Poor in Other Colonies, which was raised in 1676.The Windsor Records also say that the widow Egleston died 25 July 1689.All this is evidence that Bygod married a third wife, but her identity is just as obscure as that of his first and his second.Mathew Grant of Windsor thus record Bygod Egleston's death:"Begat egelston Dyed septem'r 1, 74. nere 100 yer ould."As a matter of fact, he was only 87.The Will of Bygod EGGLESTON reads as follows:One thousand Six hundred seaventy three November the thirteenth.19 Oct 1630, sought permission to immigrate18 May 1631, received as a freeman1674, will probated in Hartford District Court[austinJul1_2005.FTW]Bygod was born in Settrington, East Riding (now No. Yorkshire),England.Sometime before 1612 he arrived in Norwich,Norfolk,England.He married and had four children who were born in England.He emigrated to America about 1630, (some say on the ship "Mary and John", which sailed from Plymouth,England on 20 March 1630.They landed ten weeks later at Dorchester,MA)where he had seven more children.About 1635 he moved to Windsor, Hartford,CONNECTICUT, which is at the confluence of the Farmington andCT Ribers.Windsor is about six miles north of where the city of Hartford stands today.The will of Bygod EGGLESTON reads as follows:One thousand Six hundred seaventy three November the thirteenth.I Bigat Egellstone of Windsor in ye county of hartford being aged and weake do make this my last will and testament as followethI comit my soule into ye hands of god and my body to be buryed in seemly maner by my friends: my Estate which is but small: This is my Will, Will,IL my House and land after my decease I give to my son Beniamin he being ye staff of my age on this condition that he shall maintain his moothere During her life and paye my Debts And in case yet my son Joseph suold come and demaind a portion he brother shall pay him forty shillings as he is able with conveneinency also to my son James and my son Samuell and my son Thomas And to my daughters Mary Sarah and Abigaile to eyther of these three shillings apeece all ye rest of my estate I give to my son Beniamin and doo make him myexsequitor.Begat EglestonwittnessesMatt ffylerAbraham RandallJohn hosford19 Oct 1630, sought permission to immigrate18 May 1631, received as a freeman1674, will probated in Hartford District CourtMore About Bygod Eggleston:Baptism: 13 Feb 1586, All Saints Church,Settrington,Yorkshire E Riding,England.287Christening: 20 Feb 1586, Settrington,Yorkshire East Riding,England.288Immigration: 1630, Dorchester,Suffolk,MA.Residence: Bet. 1635 - 1674, Windsor,Hartford,CT.Will: 13 Nov 1673, Windsor,Hartford,CT.More About Bygod Eggleston and Mary Aylett Wall:Marriage: 1636, Dorchester,Suffolk,MA.289Children of Bygod Eggleston and Mary Aylett Wall are: